From prenatal relations to the constituting of the self: A neurobehavioural perspective on primary narcissism

Building on the centrality of the Narcissus myth and its cultural and psychological implications, the notion of primary narcissism is discussed against the backdrop of neurobehavioural research on the development of the Self. While the concept of primary narcissism emphasises egocentrism, contemporary research suggests a different understanding of the early stages of self-experience. As Freud anticipated, there is a continuum between pre- and post-natal life: early social connections and relationships, beginning in the womb, shape the developing self. This continuum invites the investigation of foetal life to understand the development of a coherent pattern of relationships with the world. The active engagement of foetuses and infants with the outside world is the primum movens of the stages that enable them to live in the world. The quality of postnatal mother-infant relationships and their co-regulation originate in the womb. This suggestion about foetal social life can be seen in part as a development of some of the original insights of psychoanalysis. While emphasizing the importance of narcissism in understanding the Self and its relationship to society, a broader perspective on the early constitutive elements of the Self is needed.